I had heard of Tekkaman before, but I never had a chance to watch it, nor did I get the opportunity to see the American version, Teknoman. Luckily I had the honor of viewing Tekkaman Blade II, which takes place 10 years after the original series and while I didn’t know much about its history, I was quickly assimilated into the Tekkaman world.

     Tekkaman Blade II rocked! I became totally immersed in the show and watched all six episodes back-to-back, highly anticipating the next scene. The show focuses on three original members, three new members and one evil Tekkaman that really made this show worth watching. Yumi Francois is a young girl who dreams about the time she was saved by D-Boy, the original Tekkaman, who now leads the new group. It has been her dream to be a Tekkaman ever since. A Tekkaman is like a robot, but more like an armor that becomes one with your skin. The interaction between Tekkaman and the person kind of reminds me of Guyver, Evangelion and PatLabor. Yumi wants to be a member of the Space Knights, the group of good Tekkaman who defend the world from the evil alien Radam. Although an unlikely addition to the team, she becomes a member, along with two more experienced fighters, Natasha Pablochiva, a mysterious woman whose father has a dark past, and David Kruegel, who also has a history with an original Tekkaman.

     While the show focuses on Yumi, David steals the show. In the city of Prague, David witnesses vast destruction as a group of Tekkaman revolt against a government and a civil war ensues. Aki, the Red Tekkaman, was fighting the battle with D-Boy, and saves David as the city is blown up by the government with Natasha’s father making the doomsday call. The event is called Black September and resulted in most of the inhabitants being killed, setting the storyline for the new series.

     The first three episodes serve as a starting point for what has to be the most well written final three episodes to a series that I have ever seen. Virgin Flush brings the group together. Yumi, who seems to have just joined the group because of her love for D-Boy, is accidentally given the power of the Reactor Voltekka, an upgrade to her Tekkaman powers. Just one problem Natasha was supposed to get it. Needless to say, this causes tension within the group, as Yumi, the most inexperienced of the three, is now the most powerful. However, she can’t control these powers and the team looks certainly screwed. Episode 2, Virgin Blood, shows Yumi improving, as they fight the Radam and their Tekkaman. The group believed their training was done, but when they see that the alien Tekkaman have feelings, they freeze and must be saved by Aki, who teaches them what war is all about. Virgin Dream ends this arc as the Radam have an advantage and D-Boy becomes Tekkaman Blade. This episode also reveals that Aki loves D-Boy as much as Yuki, and the friendly competition is on.

     Things heat up in Dead-Boy, a story that introduces Dead End, a feminine-looking man who is actually an evil Tekkaman. This Tekkaman is more powerful than any other and puts D-Boy into the hospital. David is saddened by his images of the past, when he saw Aki and D-Boy together. How could he win Aki’s heart when she loves D-Boy? On his journey, he meets Dead End, playing the harmonica in the graveyard. Looking to be in as much pain as he is, David develops a friendship with him. Meanwhile, when he discovers what has happened to D-Boy, the team decides to search for the Radam they believe to be behind the attack. However, the Black Tekkaman is revealed to be the man behind D-Boy’s hospitalization. He is too powerful for this group, taking a direct hit from Yumi’s Reactor Voltekka, and walking out without a scratch. D-Boy tries to make the save and is nearly killed, when David makes the save and the Black Tekkaman flees.

     Dirty Night continues the saga in a powerfully written episode that reveals much to the audience. David meets Dead End and the two hang out and have a good time together until David Realizes who Dead End is. They share stories about their experiences in Prague and how it affected them. Dead End blames D-Boy and the Red Tekkaman for Black September and will not stop until he kills them or gets killed. Dead End wants to die and she believes David is the only one worthy enough to kill him.

     This sets the stage for the final episode, Dangerous Boys. Black Tekkaman is in Prague and a new group of rebel Tekkaman travel there to offer their services, now believing Tekkaman Blade to no longer be invincible. They want to fight the government and want Black Tekkaman as their leader. The government decides to blow up Prague again, despite Aki’s warnings. It all leads up to a climactic, emotional battle with David trying to make Dead End deal with his pain and Yumi forced to hold back a large Tekkaman group. D-Boy returns while a bomb is headed to Prague. Everything is resolved, but the ending will leave you wanting so much more.

     I really liked this series. This was one of the best stories I have seen in a long time. The writers really put this series together well. The story gradually worked through small conflicts that got bigger until the final climactic scenes. You don’t get such good storytelling anymore. The animation was absolutely gorgeous and the sound was great, perfect compliments to the writing. I haven’t been this happy writing an anime review since Gatchaman, but this series tops that one as my new favorite anime series next to the Dragon Ball franchise. There is just so much I can say about this exhilarating, action packed, intense and totally satisfying series. If you want to be entertained; if you want fun; if you are ready for one of the most complete animes on the market, I don’t recommend, I implore you to pick up Tekkaman Blade II today.

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